I initiated regular coverage of the biotech industry at Forbes, and wrote many of the early stories on genomics, personalized medicine, and the automation of drug making. I also launched the Arabic edition of Forbes, and oversaw what became highly influential lists in the Middle East, such as the 50 Most Powerful Arab Businesswomen. Qaddafi's daughter really wanted to be on it, and George Bush mentioned the list at the World Economic Forum. In between, I helped my father, a nephrologist, form a start-up that develops software to assist general practitioners in diagnosing patients. It is part of the exciting new field of health information technology, and it is going to shape the way we interact with our doctors.
Follow me on Twitter @ZinaMoukheiber

Diary Of A 22-Year-Old Health Technology Entrepreneur

When I first heard of Grant Verstandig and his start-up Audax Health, an online health site, I thought how did a 22-year-old college dropout (he was a student of Greek and Latin) raise an astonishing $16.5 million in less than one year? The former head of the National Cancer Institute is on his board, so are the ex-chairman of Aetna, the former number two at the Fed, and one-time Apple CEO John Sculley. Verstandig’s trajectory is highly unusual. Entrepreneurs typically struggle to get someone to believe in their vision.

Here he tells how he started Audax, which means bold or audacity in Latin.

Ever since my first home run as a little league baseball player, playing sports was my identity. Fast forward to the fall of 2009, I was entering my freshman year at Brown University as a lacrosse player. Almost immediately though, a chronic knee injury flared up again. By spring 2010, I had endured seven surgeries, including a partial knee replacement. My doctor broke the news: I would never play lacrosse again, let alone run in a straight line.

I was shattered. Refusing to accept my doctor’s prognosis, I scoured the Internet searching for information about my knee injury, and for what others with damaged ligaments had to say. But I kept coming up empty. Of course, there were sites such as WebMD, Sharecare, and PatientsLikeMe. However, none provided me with an easy, personalized, and social patient experience. I wanted a safe place to communicate with fellow patients who could share their experience, tell me what to expect, and provide information tailored to my situation. Occasionally, I found a potentially useful site, but it wasn’t private or secure. I felt like another eyeball being used to sell more ads to pharma companies.

My frustrations stemmed from a knee injury. Imagine how much more difficult it is for someone with a serious illness, such as diabetes or cancer. At the time, I was on track to earn a degree in neurobiology, with the long-term goal of becoming a doctor. I had just completed an internship with the National Institutes of Health. Cooped up in my dorm room, recovering from my surgery, I started researching all the major players in health technology: General Electric, Microsoft, Cleveland Clinic, WebMD, the Blue Cross Blue Shield technology portals, among others. The more I searched, the more convinced I became that there was an opportunity to improve the health care experience.

I made a decision that many would call crazy. I dropped out of Brown the second semester of my sophomore year and returned home to Washington, D.C. to pursue my goal of bringing the power of social networking and customization to healthcare, in a way that protected personal privacy.

My parents were not thrilled, to say the least. What did I know about starting a business or health care? Was I willing to trade my Ivy League education for something that might not work out? My parents ultimately gave me their support–something I deeply appreciate. They told me I could live with them, but to raise money and get this business off the ground, I was on my own.

I tapped every potential lead. I asked friends studying at Georgetown University for access to their business and health care professors, who might offer ideas, connections and guidance. I reached out to former Brown University professors, like Barrett Hazeltine, who ran the entrepreneurship program there. I scoured Linkedin for people who were involved in health care and social networking and sent hundreds of cold messages. I quickly discovered that launching a business was tougher than I ever imagined.

Eventually the pieces began to come together. Professor Hazeltine introduced me to some incredible contacts within the Brown network, and through that network, I met a few angel investors. One was the CEO of TIAA-CREF and the former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Roger Ferguson, who was willing to take a chance on me and my start-up, Audax Health. Rick Klausner, a long-time family friend who helped set up the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s global health program and headed the National Cancer Institute, agreed to serve as chairman. Through Roger and Rick, I met John Rowe, the former chairman of Aetna. Believing that changes in the legislative landscape were going to force consumers to take charge of their own health care, he also invested. Lastly, a Georgetown professor connected me with the founder of a health care company. He heard my pitch, and decided to introduce me to John Sculley, the former CEO of Apple.

I flew to Palm Beach, Florida in the spring of 2011 to meet John over dinner. I was really nervous about what he, a Brown graduate, would think of me, a 22-year-old Brown dropout with the lofty goal of changing health care. Adding to my anxiety, I was late for the dinner, which included some very high-powered investors and executives, because my flight was delayed and my cab driver got lost. After showing up over an hour late, I sat quietly as conversations ran their course about investments, company buyouts and patent infringements—subjects I knew next to nothing about. Nervously, I finally chimed in, and the table turned silent. “Why don’t you give us your background and tell us your idea?” asked John. “What are some of your biggest failures?” I replied that I had done a poor job over-promising and under-delivering; I was not managing expectations well about progress to my angel investors.

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Wow. Awesome stuff! Stories like this are really motivational for a 19 year old college student like myself. I’ve recently been more engaged in start up communities and programs, and this story furthers my belief I can start my own company in a few years.